Instead of falling forward, Talia feels herself hurling backward. She collides with a mass of hard, lean muscle, and arms encircle her waist in a death grip. She is stunned for a moment before panic sets in. She begins to struggle in the grip, but the arms get tighter, causing her ribs to ache with their force. Finally, she is flipped onto her back and Lucian is hovering over her with a look of weariness in his exposed eye.
“Do you want to die?” He asks smoothly, his breathing even and sure despite their tussle.
“Yes! Yes, I want to die!” Talia yells into his face, angry tears rushing down her cheeks. “Better I be dead than stay in this hell with you and your hoard of beasts!”
“So, you don’t care what happens to your people?” Talia stills, her heart thundering in her chest. She looks at
